Heal the Bay, a California based environmental group dedicated to making California's ocean and waterways safe and healthy, today announced a text messaging based version of Beach Report Card. The program, which publishes weekly water quality grades for California beaches, will now be accessible to citizens anytime and anywhere via text messaging technology.

In order to get instant water quality grade information for any one of the more than 400 monitored California beaches, beachgoers can simply send a text message with the beach's name to the number 23907. A text message response with the beach's most recent weekly grade will be returned immediately.

"Everyone deserves to know the water quality at their favorite beach," said Karin Hall, Executive Director of Heal the Bay. "Through text messaging, beachgoers now can have that information at their fingertips no matter where they are."

According to officials at Heal the Bay and GoLive! Mobile, a Los Angeles-based firm who provided the technology for the project, the two organizations are planning additional mobile initiatives throughout the year. Planned roll-outs include emergency volunteer SMS alerts for Heal the Bay's extensive volunteer network, among other programs.

"This is a very innovative use of text messaging, and we are honored to work with Heal the Bay in adding cutting edge technology to their hugely successful, 17 year old Beach Report Card program," commented Shannon Kessler, a sales director at GoLive! Mobile.

Last Updated ( Thursday, 23 August 2007 )